Men's Basketball Handles Avila in Opener

Tuesday, November 5

Kansas City, MO

8:00 PM

Kansas City

102

Avila

Men's Basketball Handles Avila in Opener

11/5/2019 3:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Box

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Men's Basketball team opened a new era under the direction of head coach Billy Donlon and posted a 102-49 victory over Avila University (1-1) tonight in the season and home opener from the Swinney Center. The 53-point winning margin was the second-largest in school history as the offense was on display with four players in double-figures. Junior Brandon McKissic led all scorers with a career-best 27 points, including 23 in the first half.

"As a coach, you're just so happy for the guys because you know how hard they work," head coach Billy Donlon said. "Since I got here April first, they've worked really hard academically, to continue to grow as people, and they worked hard on the floor tonight."

It was a dominant performance from Kansas City, as the team led for 95.7% of the game after Avila started with a quick three pointer to go up 3-0. That three-point lead turned out to be the Eagles largest lead all night. Senior Javan White, new to the Roos this season after transferring from Clemson, started the party with a massive throw down for the first points on the Roos side. Although White played limited minutes tonight (13), he showed glimpses of dominance in the paint, scoring seven points and adding six rebounds. Look for him to be a double-double monster this season for the Roos.

The first half belonged to Roos junior guard Brandon McKissic. He totaled 23 points in the half, nailing five threes, two free throws, and three buckets at the rim. McKissic, last year's ALL-WAC defensive-team player, showed that he can get it done on the offensive side of the ball as well. As a team, Kansas City shot at a high clip of 50% from the field and 44.4% from the three. A key to the success tonight was Kansas City's ball pressure on the opposing Eagles. In the first half alone, Kansas City forced 15 Eagles turnovers and converted those turnovers into 21 points.

"Our defense is about flying around and helping each other," Donlon said. "We did a good job, but we did the job that we were supposed to do."

The Roos went into halftime with a commanding 53-32 lead over the Eagles.

In the second half, coach Donlon made sure to involve the bench, as 11 players saw playing time tonight. The Roos main front court in White and Giles only played a combined 15 minutes, opening up the floor for others to contribute. Marvin Nesbitt Jr. stepped up and handled the paint tonight. He posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He also added six assists and four steals to his line, an impressive outing for the junior. Last season, Nesbitt Jr. led the Roos in rebounding, so his role tonight of paint-dominance was business as usual.

As a team, Kansas City finished the game shooting 52% from the field and 40% from the three-point line. Another key to the Roos offensive entourage tonight was sharing the wealth.

"We made 38 baskets and had 30 assists," Donlon said. "So we want our guys to play hard and play unselfish. That's impact winning because it shows a commitment to the guys to help each other."

Up Next

The Roos hit the road for a date with Oklahoma State on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+
"How we handle success will define our team moving forward," Donlon said. "Saturday will be our first time coming off of success, so I'm excited to see how we will respond."

Game Notes:

With 30 assists tonight, Kansas City tied an all-time school single-game record that the 1991-92 team recorded. The Roos had 30 helpers against Southern California College on Jan. 9, 1992.
The Roos improve to 3-0 against the Eagles, winning all games by at least 30 points.
Kansas City snaps a four-game losing streak in season-openers. The last win to open up the year was in the 2014-15 lid-lifter against Missouri in Columbia, Mo., and a 69-61 victory.
Coach Donlon became just the second sideline general in the 34-year history of NCAA Division I basketball to win his first game. The other was coach Rich Zvosec as he won his debut on Nov. 17, 2001 in a road victory at Wisconsin - Green Bay (W, 48-47).
This is the first time since November 12, 2018 that the Roos scored 100-plus points in a game. In that contest, Kansas City defeated Haskell by a 110-59 count.
The Roos led 53-32 at half making it the first time the team posted 50-plus points in a half since December 22, 2018.
Senior Jordan Giles is now tied at 34^th on the Roos all-time scoring list with 623.
Brandon McKissic scored a career high 27 points during his 49^th career start for the Roos making it his third career 20-plus point game.
McKissic shot 66.7% from the field while also going 5-for-8 from deep becoming the first Roo to hit five-plus three pointers since February 14, 2019.
Tonight marked the first time forcing 20+ turnovers in a game since January 19, 2019.